Wallace Fard Muhammad

Wallace Fard Muhammad (25 February 1893-after 1934) was the founder of the Nation of Islam movement in the United States. An Afghan immigrant, his Nation of Islam would be one of the most important Muslim denominations in the USA.

Biography
Wallace Fard Muhammad was born on 25 February 1893 in Afghanistan, and he became a restauranteur in Los Angeles, California, United States before being drafted during World War I. Muhammad taught in Detroit from 1930 to 1934 and sold silks door to door, and he catered to African-Americans in the city. Muhammad began to preach against Caucasians and Christianity to bring his customers to emotional crises, and he created a Muslim community that he called the "Nation of Islam". He established schools for Muslim boys and girls, with the women being taught how to clean, cook, and to perform housekeeping activities. Under Muhammad, the NOI grew to 8,000 members, and he kept a mysterious personality; his birth year and birthplace are uncertain (some say that he was born in 1877, some say that he was the son of a black father and white mother, some say that he came from Mecca, etc.), and he told his followers that it was not the time for them to learn more about him. In 1934, Muhammad suddenly disappeared, and Elijah Muhammad became the new Nation of Islam leader.